Spain's Sánchez Bypasses Parliament to Legalize 1.3 Million Migrants

Spain's amnesty program drew 1.3 million applications, nearly triple the 500,000 beneficiaries Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez initially projected. The government advanced the policy through royal decree in April, bypassing parliament where his minority coalition lacks majority support. The surge of submissions has intensified scrutiny over the administration's approach and sparked fierce public opposition.

Opposition parties immediately vowed legal challenges. Vox filed a formal request with the Supreme Court to suspend the decree, setting up a constitutional battle over executive authority. The gap between official forecasts and actual applications points to deliberate deception, not simple miscalculation.

Demographer Alejandro Macarrón Larumbe attributed the discrepancy to "political strategies" from the Socialist government. Funcas director María Miyar pointed to police data indicating the applicant pool would exceed 1.3 million, directly contradicting the administration's public estimates. The government's own National Center for Immigration and Borders projected between 750,000 and one million potential applicants.

Sánchez defended the policy as essential. "The more than one million applications submitted show how necessary this recognition of rights and responsibilities was," he stated. His government framed the amnesty as both a moral imperative and economic necessity, arguing immigrants sustain Spain's aging population and welfare system.

Opposition leaders fired back. People's Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called the measure "inhumane, unfair, unsafe, and unsustainable." Vox leader Santiago Abascal wrote, "Sánchez hates Spaniards and that's why he wants to replace them." Both parties pledged to fight the decree through Spain's courts.

The amnesty threatens to overwhelm Spain's already strained infrastructure. The country's foreign-born population reached 10 million in 2025, representing one in five residents. Spain faces a severe housing crisis, with unemployment hovering near 10 percent despite 2.8 percent economic growth last year.

Police unions warned of "administrative overload, difficulties in obtaining certain international documents, and increasing pressure on the offices and units responsible." Only 360,000 applications had been deemed admissible for processing as of mid-June, when approximately 900,000 had been filed. By the June 30 deadline, total applications had risen to 1.3 million, though authorities did not separately report the admissible count at that point.

Voter backlash already showed in February's Aragon regional election. Vox doubled its seats from seven to 14 while Socialists lost a fifth of their representation. Immigration ranked as the second-highest public concern at 20.3 percent in February polling, trailing only housing issues.

The policy sparked international tensions at last week's European Council summit. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni clashed with Sánchez over potential impacts on the Schengen zone. Feijóo warned, "Spain is exporting a migration problem to the entire European Union," arguing the move runs against common European consensus.

Applicants came predominantly from Latin America, with Colombians representing 30 percent of submissions. Moroccans accounted for 14 percent, Venezuelans 10 percent, and Peruvians 9 percent. The process opened opportunities for fraud, with scammers charging 50 to 400 euros for appointments that should be free.

NGOs urged migrants to apply even with incomplete documentation, promising additional time to provide missing paperwork. The Spanish Commission for Refugees predicted around 900,000 approvals, noting "the percentage of approvals is very high" due to straightforward requirements.

This marks Spain's seventh mass regularization in 40 years. The 2005 process under Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero granted 576,506 residency permits from 691,655 applications. Studies showed those regularized contributed 4,000 to 5,000 euros annually in total tax revenue, mainly payroll contributions, with income tax alone adding approximately 440 euros per person.

Authorities now face a three-month window to process the unprecedented backlog. The administrative burden threatens to collapse basic services while exacerbating Spain's housing shortage and labor market strains. The amnesty stands as a cautionary tale for European nations considering similar policy overreach on immigration.